Tax Day

Twenty minutes after Kaleb took off on his bike for school this morning, Kory and I were enjoying a cup of coffee while doing our Bible studies, and in walked Kaleb, crying. He got half way to school and something flew into his eye. He was beside himself in pain and frustration. It took us nearly 20 minutes to even find it. We prayed, we ran water over it, we turned his eye socket every which way while he moved his eyeball around, but we couldn’t see a thing. We prayed at least three different times, asking God for help, and wondering if we just needed to take him to the doctor, when I finally got out a flashlight and found a little black speck up under his eyelid. That was it. The pain and irritation was finally gone so Kory drove him to school and he was half an hour late. I felt terrible for him, but it didn’t hamper the rest of his day, so that was good.

Once his pain was behind us, we decided to tackle a different kind of pain, so we headed down to the tax office. I must say, the tax system here is much more cut and dried and not nearly as painful of a process as in the U.S., even if the tax rates are higher. The good news for us though, is that we didn’t have enough income last year to pay any tax, so I was shouting HALLELUJAH all day. It makes no sense whatsoever, that in years past we actually LOST money on renting out our condo, and we had to pay taxes. Now that we actually made a few bucks, we don’t have to pay a thing (because it really was just a few bucks). Strange system. But the best part of the deal was, after we waited about 20 minutes in line, we were taken into an office and the tax person just did the taxes for us. I brought in some receipts that she looked over and verified, then she filled out the form, we signed on the bottom and that was it. Sweet process, and now it’s done and scratched off my list of things to do.

We went shopping afterwards for a mattress for Kaleb’s new bed. He’s using the old one Tante Ruth had here but it’s not a full double size so when the day comes that Kory and I will be sleeping on his bottom bunk, neither of us want to end up in the large crack against the wall. We aren’t done checking all our options so we didn’t buy anything today.

Kory’s mom’s cousins’ wife stopped by this afternoon with her granddaughter, Beate. Beate (pronounced Bee-ah-ta) is expecting a baby in June and she ordered a whole bunch of baby clothes over the internet and sent them to our house in America so we could bring them to her here. She saved a lot of money doing that and I was happy to help, since prices are so insane here. She brought me a lovely orchid plant and paid us for the extra luggage fee. She was thrilled to have so many nice clothes (by Ralph Lauren!) for her baby.

We enjoyed a cup of tea and chatted quite a bit with the two of them before we had to leave and drive over to Kory’s cousin, Ketil’s house, for potato balls tonight. In this area, for some reason, Thursdays are the day everyone makes potato balls. And I guess it’s a “delicacy” only in this part of Norway. Lucky us. We picked Kaleb up along the way since he went home with Andre after school. He was bored all evening and sat and played his Nintendo, but the rest of us sure had some good laughs. Ketil also invited his niece Camilla (Odd’s oldest daughter) and her new husband, Odd-Lief for dinner, so it was nice to get to know the newest member of the family, since they were just married last summer and are now expecting a baby.  (Top photo is the view from their living room)

I wasn’t too thrilled about having potato balls for dinner (see photo), since they aren’t my favorite, but as it turns out, Lise, Ketil’s wife, makes them a little different from the way Tante Kari makes them (the only ones I’ve ever eaten before), so for the first time in my life, I ate TWO! They were actually pretty good. I was very proud of myself. It makes me wonder, after eating that deer stew the other night, and now eating two potato balls, if I just might be morphing into a real Norwegian afterall.

Ketil and Lise have been married seven years. They eloped to Miami and got married just before they hopped on a cruise ship to the Caribbean for their honeymoon. We cracked up when they told us what they had to endure in order to get married in America. They planned to be married in the Norwegians Seaman’s Church in Miami, but it was required they get married at the courthouse first, then return to the church for a Norwegian ceremony. When they went down to the courthouse, they had to stand in a long line of people waiting to be married. The judges stood behind a counter that looked exactly like a bank counter, with bulletproof glass between them and the wedding couple. Each judge had their own little speaking hole, just like at the bank, and they had the spot under the glass for slipping things back and forth. The only difference was, they could push a button if they wanted a little music during their ceremony, and there was a built in vase, in which to set the flowers while they exchanged rings. Several weddings were going on at the same time! What a circus. I can’t imagine anyone doing it that way, but they, and obviously many others, did. It’s a good thing they can laugh about it now, but at the time, they were understandably, pretty disgusted by the whole deal.

Ketil is the cousin that “helped” us by our condo back in 1999. Things went a little south in the process and he’s acted somewhat uncomfortable around us since then, but tonight we made sure he knew that it was all part of God’s plan and what a blessing it was for us in the end. We tried to relieve some of his guilt and make sure he understood we were thankful for his part in us being able to have a place to live in Norway. It was healing for us all.

No More Easter Break

My good friend Paula woke at the crack of dawn this morning in order to get herself ready so she could come with me to school. I thought it would be fun for her to watch me wince in pain as I struggle with this thing called the Norwegian language. She wasn’t laughing too much as she was concentrating on trying to understand it herself. She understands Dutch from when she lived in Holland 20 years ago so she was familiar with some of the words. Our teacher said people from Holland have the easiest time learning the Scandinavian languages because they are more like the Dutch language than any other. So Paula was a good student and very focused, while I on the other hand, just tried to stay awake. I only slept about four hours last night so I was in a fog all morning. I’m so determined to post my blog every day, most nights I’m up after midnight in order to get it done. Uff da. And Kaleb is sleeping in our bed so Paula can have his room and that kid is all elbows and knees, so my sleep was anything but sound.

After school today Paula and I stayed in town so she could experience the city. It only takes a few hours as it’s a small place, but she just had to do it. We had lunch and walked around and enjoyed lots of sunshine and a cool breeze as we made our way over to a second hand store to look for treasures. Paula and I have always liked the exact same things and it’s a sure bet if I buy something, I may as well get two of them and give one to her. We decorate our houses in a similar fashion and sure enough, she bought things at the store that were right in line with what I’ve been buying – candlesticks, vases, decorative baskets and serving spoons – all made from Norwegian pewter. One pewter spoon costs about $40 new, but she was able to get the same thing at the thrift store for four dollars, so she was happy. I found a few treasures there myself and could hear Kory’s voice in the back of my mind saying, “What are we going to do with all this stuff when we move?” (Some of it is going home in Paula’s suitcase and she can ship it to me from Colorado later.)

We stopped at the library to order up the farm record books we saw while we were down in Vestfold, where Paula’s great grandparents lived. I’m hoping the books arrive before she leaves on Sunday. (I love that it’s possible to order any book from any library in the entire country and they ship it for free!) I want to make copies of the pages and translate them for her so she can share the information with her family when she gets home. I also want to see if I can go back any more generations on her family tree, but already I’m back to the 1600s on several branches.

Paula and I made the laborious climb up the 418 steps to the top of the Aksla mountain in town so we could enjoy the view from Fjellstua – the “mountain livingroom” that sits above the city giving the tourists a fine destination point when the cruise ships come to call. Actually, we enjoyed the view from every bench provided between the first step and the last because we were moaning and groaning just a bit more than usual and needed to sit down a lot after our big mountain climb yesterday. My knees weren’t the best and Paula’s feet hurt, so we were just a fine couple of “golden girls” not willing to admit we’ve aged much, but the proof was in the pudding, as they say. I think we might have used an hour to get to the top. I’ve done it in the past in less than 15 minutes, but I had nothing to prove, so we just enjoyed the view as we climbed higher and higher seeing the sights that unfolded before us. It was also good to have some girl talk for a change - and to laugh. Some days, I think I forget to laugh.

Kory broke out the BBQ today after he got home from work. He was so excited to be back in his element Bar-B-Qing salmon and potatoes (which were really tasty, by the way.) Tobias came over to play with Kaleb and stayed for dinner and we all had some hardy laughs as the boys played with words while we ate. Kaleb is not thrilled that he lost his electronics for two weeks because of how disrespectful and disobedient he’s been lately so he’s struggling with what to do with all his free time. He currently thinks I’m the worst mother in the whole world so it’s nice to have Paula here to validate me. Poor Paula, she’s been on the phone nearly non-stop as her job in Colorado provides no break. She manages rental cabins in the Rocky Mountains, so we also share the “joy” of having jobs that are difficult to leave behind. We currently have three vacancies at our apartment building in Seattle (a record for one month), and it’s more than I can manage. Fortunately we have managers back home, but there are things we still must deal with. Paula, of all people, feel my pain, so I’m thanking God He brought her to me just when I needed her most.